This invention was originally disclosed in Disclosure Document No. 455205 filed on Apr. 22, 1999.
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ukelele, and more particularly to stringed acoustical musical instruments having made from koa wood, and coconut shells.
II. Background
The ukelele is a small, guitarlike musical instrument associated chiefly with Hawaiian music. It produces a unique, pleasing, acoustical sound when strummed. The Hula is a native dance performed by Hawaiians, usually to a traditional tune played on a ukelele.
Koa is defined as a Hawaiian acacia or Acacia koa, of the legume family, having gray bark. It produces a hard red or golden-brown wood, typically used for making furniture. The natural vegetation of Hawaii is conditioned by its isolation, which ha served to limit the number of species, and by the interplay of its mountains and the moist trade winds. The dry leeward (SW) coasts of Hawaii are virtual deserts, with spiny koa and kiawe shrubs growing on the slightly wetter slopes.
Coconut is the common name for the fruit of a tree, Cocos nucifera, of the family Arecaceae. The tree and its fruit are widely distributed in tropical regions, including Hawaii. The tree, called coconut palm, has a cylindrical trunk, about 45 cm (about 18 in) in diameter and can grow up to 30 m (100 ft) high. At the summit it bears a crown of about 20 pinnate leaves that generally curve downward, each of which is about 3 to 4.5 m (about 10 to 15 ft) long. The fruit grow in clusters of 10 to 20 or more nuts. The mature coconut, about 30 cm (about 12 in) long, is oval-shaped and has a thick, fibrous outer husk and a hard inner shell.
The three components set forth above, ukelele, koa wood, and coconuts, have notably been unrelated in any way up until the creation of the present invention. The sounds which emanate from a ukelele can be modified to produce unique pitch and deeper tonal qualities never before experienced. The improvement to the ukelele is accomplished by the use of Koa wood, or a similar type of wood as milo wood, both of which are very hard woods such as are normally used for furniture. The flat, peanut-shaped sounding boards are made from the hardwood Koa or milo, and are attached via sidewalls, made from dried, hard coconut shells.
Musicians are constantly in search of the unique sound which expresses the creativity and originality that sets them apart from the mainstream, that draws attention to their work. The present invention provides yet another for musical artists to express that creativity.
What is disclosed is an improved stringed musical instrument comprising a body having an upper sounding board, a lower sounding board, and a convex sidewall. Sidewall is connected peripherally to the upper and lower sounding boards, for defining a resonant cavity. A longitudinal neck portion extends on an axis away from the body. The instrument has a plurality of strings tensioned between the body and the neck adjacent said upper sounding board. Tensioning means is provided for tensioning said strings to a desired level.
The upper sounding board includes an aperture positioned in an upper central position, with a plurality of strings passing over the aperture on the outside of the body. The upper and lower sounding boards are comprised of a Hawaiian hardwood selected from one of the group of koa and milo. The convex sidewalls comprise of a plurality of sectors made from hardwood coconut shells and glued together to form a contiguous peripheral sidewall between said upper and lower sounding boards. The preferred embodiment of this stringed instrument is a ukelele.
Further, the neck also comprises a fingerboard having a plurality of frets for compressing the strings between a player""s fingers and the fret for producing a desired sequence of musical notes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved stringed instrument, particularly a ukelele, with a unique, deepened tonal quality resultant from materials of construction including sounding boards made from koa wood or milo, and sidewalls made from dried coconut shells, which are cut, sanded, and glued together.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a uniquely shaped ukelele having convex sidewalls made of sanded coconut segments, and koa wood.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ukelele which includes a graphical design visible through the front aperture of the body.
Accordingly, I have provided the detailed description and drawings as follows.